Wire tying mechanism



April 27, 1954 H. w.v BLoss 2,676,623

WIRE TYING MECHANISM Original Filed July 2, 1945 INVENTORi AROLD w.BLOSS A TTORNE YS.

Patented Apr. 27, 1954 WIRE TYING MECHANISM Harold W. Bloss, Ottumwa,Iowa, assignor to Deere Manufacturing 00., a corporation of IowaContinuation of application Serial No. 602,810, July 2, 1945. Thisapplication September 16, 1949, Serial No. 116,038

6 Claims.

The present invention relates generally to wiretying mechanism, withparticular reference to mechanism used in connection with hay pick-upbaling presses and is in the nature of an improvement over the mechanismdisclosed in an application Serial No. 594,684, filed May 19, 1945, byMiles H. Tuft, now Patent No. 2,512,754.

The instant application is a continuation of my co-pending application,Serial No. 602,810, filed July 2, 1945, now abandoned.

In mechanism of this type, two strands of wire are received within aradially extending slot in a twisting gear and the gear is rotated totwist the strands together to form an elongated doublestranded twistthat projects at both sides of the gear. Kinking members at oppositesides of the twisting gear have slots for loosely receiving the twistedstrands. These kinking members are rotated about axes perpendicular tothe axis of rotation of the twisting gear and thus bend or kink thetwisted portions of the wire strands, conditioning them againstuntwisting and pulling' apart. Simultaneously, the twisted portion issevered at the center thereof, by a shearing action between an edge ofthe slot the twisting gear and an edge of the slot in one of the kinkingmembers, thereby providing two separate knots or ties. The knot in thekinking member which does the severing thus has but one bend or kinktherein, .but the knot on the other side of the twisting gear has twospaced bends or kinks, because the end of the twist that lays in thetwisting gear slot is pulled through and bent around the inner end ofthe slot in the proximate kinking member.

It has been found under test that the knot having two spaced bends ismore resistant to untwisting and pulling apart than is the knot havingonly one bend therein. Hence, the principal object of thisinventionresides in the provision of novel and improved wire-tying mechanism thatproduces two knots or ties, each of which is bent or kinked at twospaced points in the twisted portion of the strands.

More specifically, an object of my invention relates to the provision ofwire-tying mechanism which twists two strands of wire together, bendsthe twisted portion in four spaced points thereon, and severs thetwisted portion adjacent the center thereof to provide two knots, eachof which has a pair of spaced bends in the twisted portion thereof.

These and other objects and advantages of my invention will becomeapparent as :a-complete disclosure ofa preferred embodiment-fi th?invention is made in the following description and drawings appendedthereto, in which Figure 1 is an end elevational view of a wiretyingdevice embodying the principles of the present invention and having aportion of the casing broken away to expose the twisting gear and one ofthe kinking members;

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken along the line -22 in Figure 1,showing the strands of balin wire and also showing the upper portion ofthe needle in tying position;

Figure 3 is a bottom plan view of the twisting gear and the two kinkingmembers, showing the relative positions thereof, the casing beingomitted;

Figure 4 is a bottom plan view of the tying mechanism on one side of thecasing, showing the associated portion of the casing and also showingthe strands of baling wire in place in the mechanism, the needle beingomitted and the kinking members being shown in a partially rotatedposition;

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 but showing the kinking membersin their extreme position wherein the twisted portions of the wirestrands are kinked after having been severed;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of one of the completed knots; and

Figure 7 is an enlarged elevational view of the lower end of one of thekinking members.

Referring now to the drawings, the wire-tying mechanism includes asupport or casing l0 comprising two complementary casing section I I and[2 connected rigidly together bya plurality of bolts [3. The centralportion of the casing ill houses a drive gear M, of comparatively largediameter, keyed to a drive shaft [5 journaled in abearing l6.

A pair of twisting elements in the form of gears I! are disposed vonopposite sides of the drive gear M, respectively, and have teeth meshingwith the latter. Each of the twisting gears I1 is rotatably carriedwithin a circular chamber l8 within the casing I0 and is supported onthe ends of its teeth, which slidably engage the peripheral wall of thechamber I8. Each gear i1 is provided with wire-receiving meanscomprising a radially extending slot l9, which extends radiallyoutwardly from the axis of rotation of the gear and between a pair ofteeth of the gear, which teeth define an outwardly flaring opening tothe slot 19 through which the wires can'be shifted. The slot 19 at thecenter of the gear I! is sufiiciently wide to receive a strand of balingwire but not wide enough for two strands of wire 3 to pass each other inthe slot; therefore, when two wires are placed within the slot [5 andthe gear is rotated about its axis, the two strands of wire will betwisted together.

Normally, the slot i 5 opens downwardly in register with a correspondingslot in the bottom of the casing Ill. The slot 20 communicates with thegear chamber l8 and extends upwardly on each side of the latter, whereit is flared into an enlarged opening 2 I.

Disposed within the enlarged openings 2| on opposite sides of each ofthe twisting gears ll is a pair of bending elements or kinking membersand 25, each of which comprises a shaft rotatable on an axisperpendicular to the axis of rotation of the associated twisting gear I!and jouroaled in a corresponding passage 21 and 28 in the housingsections I I, I2, respectively. The kinking member shafts 25 and 26extend upwardly at laterally opposite sides of the twisting gear ll,respectively, through gear chambers 29 and in the casing 10, thesechambers being in communication with each other to receive a pair ofintermeshing drive gears 31- and 32, respectively, which are fixed. tothe kinker shafts 25 and 25. One of the shafts 26 extends through thetop of the casing i-B and is keyed to a drive gear 33. Thus, rotation ofthe gear 33 efiects rotation of the kinking member 25 which in turndrives the other kinking member 25 through the gears 3| and 32, the twokinking members rotating in opposite directions.

Each of the kinking members 25 and 26 is provided at its lower end withwire-receiving means in the form of a slot 35, extending diametrically'1 across the end thereof and normally disposed in alignment with theslot l9 in the twisting gear l? associated therewith; but the slots 35are ap preciably wider than the slot [9 and may receive the two strandsof wire as they are moved into the twisting gear slot 19. The slots 5provide suflicient clearance so that, when the twisting gear rotates,the wire strands within the slots 35 can twist freely withoutinterference from the kinking members.

Each of the twisting gears I! is provided with a central recessedportion 36 in each side thereof, so that, with the slots 35 in thekinking members 25 and 25 normally in alignment with the slot i9 in thegear ll, there is a space between the inner end of each slot 35 and theadjacent end of the slot IS. The kinking member .25 is provided with anaxially extending, radially outwardly projecting cutting means 40 thathas an axially extending cutting edge H (see Figure 3), which is movedby rotation of the kinking member 25 into cooperative shearing relationwith the edge of the slot is in the twisting gear i1. Hence, when thekinking member 25 rotates in a clockwise direction (as viewed in Figure3) the cutting edge 41 approaches the indented side 36 of the gear I!and cuts or severs the wire strands at the adjacent end of the slot 19.The cutting means or element 45 is spaced peripherally around the sideof the kinking member 25 to position the cutting edge 4| in angularlyspaced relation to the slot 35, for the purpose of postponing ordelaying the severing action until the kinking member has rotatedthrough a sufficient angle to at least partially bend or kink thetwisted strands of wire.

After the strands have been severed, the kinking members 25 and 26continue to rotate until each has rotated through an angle ofapproximately 180 degrees to complete the kinking of the twistedstrands. The kinkers then reverse their direction of movement and returnto their original positions.

The kinkers are oscillated in this manner by a horizontal drive gear 45having a hub 46 which is journaled on a vertical spindle 41 fixed to thegear casing ID. The gear 45 has teeth 48 which mesh with the pinions 33on the kinking members 26, and therefore an oscillation of the gear 45rotates the kinking members 26 first in one direction and then in theother. The kinking members 25 are rotated simultaneously by means of themeshing gears 34 and 52. This oscillatory movement of the gear '45 isimparted by means of a link comprising a pair of strap members 55disposed above and below the gear 45 and pivotally connected. thereto bymeans of a pivot bolt 5!. The means for actuating the link members 55does not form an essential part of the present invention and thereforeis not described herein in detail. It is sufficient to say that the linkmembers 50 are reciprocated after the twisting gear ll has been rotatedto twist the wire strands together, and a pair of stops 52 and 53 on thebottom of the gear 4:5 and the top of the casing [0, respectively,prevent the gear 45 from being rotated through a greater extent than isnecessary to move the kinking members through degrees each.

In order that the twisted wire strands will be retained within the slots35 in the kinking members 25 and 25 during angular movement of thesemembers, the walls of the slots 35 are undercut, as indicated at 55, onthe sides of the slots that engage the twisted strands during that partof th angular movement of the kinking members in which the twistedportions are being bent. Each undercut portion .55 is formed preferablyby the drilling of a hole transversely through the kinking member at anangle to the slot 35. An angle of 15 degrees between the axis of thehole 55 and the axis of the slot 35 will give satisfactory results. 7

When the kinking members reverse their direction of rotation, thetwisted strands, which are now bent at two spaced points at each side ofthe twisting gear ll, engage the sides of the slots 35 which are notundercut, During this return movement, the twisted and kinked wires areejected downwardly from the slots 35, this ejecting action beingeffected by beveled portions 56 and 51 along the edges of the slots 35,which portions bear against the wires during the return movement andprovide inclined camming surfaces which, while the kinkers are beingreturned to their normal position, act to force the twisted portions ofthe wires downwardly out of the slots.

The wire for each bale tieis fed from a pair of coils of wire (notshown), disposed respectively above and below the bale case. The wirefrom the upper coil is shown at 60 and passes downwardly over a sheave6| mounted on a shaft 52 journaled in a bracket 63. The bracket 63 isattached by a bolt 64 to a supporting lug 55 on the casing portion l 2.The wire 60 passes downwardly under a second sheave 66 mounted on ashaft 61 journaled on the bracket 63. From the sheave 66, the wire 60extends through the slot 20 in the housing and lies in the aligned slotsl9 and 35 in the twisting gear I! and the kinking members 25 and 26,respectively, whence the wire 60 extends laterally toward the left, asviewed in Figure 2, over the top of a bale being formed (not shown).

A wire strand 10 from a lower coil '(not shown extends outwardly along aneedle 1|, only the upper end of which is shown in Figure 2, and passesover a pair of spaced sheaves 13 and 14 mounted on stub shafts l5 and I6journaled in a pair of spaced fingers l1 and 18, respectively, at theend of the needle. From the sheave T4, the wire strand I passes alongthe bottom of the bale and up the outer end thereof, at which point itis tied to the upper wire 60 by a knot that was formed in the precedingtying operation, as will be made clear presently.

While the bale is being formed, the needle is retracted below the balecase and the bale is formed between the upper and lower wire strands 60and 10; and when the bale attains a predetermined length, the needle His moved upwardly tobring the lower strand Hi up along the end of thebale. As the needle moves into the position shown in Figure 2, thestrand 10 is shifted upwardly through the slot I 9 in the twister gear17 and into the two aligned slots 35 in the kinking members 25 and 26.It is to be noted that there are two such needles H which movesimultaneously and bring two parallel wires 10 upwardly into theopposite sides of the tying mechanism case Ill.

The drive shaft I is then rotated through one revolution, turning thetwister gears I! through three revolutions; and, since the slot ill ineach of the twister gears I1 is but slightly wider than the diameter ofone of the wires, the two doublestranded wires lie in close proximityand are twisted by the rotation of the gear I! into a relativelyelongated double-stranded helix :or twist which has contiguous twistedportions 80 extending in :both directions from the gear H. The slots 35in the kinkin members are, as stated above, large enough to permit thewires to twist therein without interference.

As soon as the twister gears ll cease rotating, the horizontal gear 45is oscillated by reciprocation of the link 50 through a sufiicient rangeto turn the pinions 33 through 180 degrees each and then to return themto their original positions. As shown in Figure 4, as soon as thekinking members begin to turn while the twister gear I! is heldstationary, the twisted portion 80 at each side of the twister gear isbent at two spaced points 8|, 82 at opposite ends of the slot 35 inwhich such twisted portion is lying. Thus, the elongated double-strandedtwist is engaged and bent at four points spaced lengthwise thereof toprovide two pairs of bends, one pair at each side of the twisting gearI1. It will be noted that each of the short lengths of Wire strands 83which spanthe space between the kinking member 25 and the twister gearI! is bent substantially at right angles to the twisted portion 80,which lies in the slot 35 of the kinking member 25, before the wires aresevered by the cutting edge M on the cutting element 4!]. This resultfollows because the cutting edge 4| is spaced peripherally around theside of the kinking member 25 from the end of the slot 35 and theundercut portion 55.

Further rotation of the kinking members causes the cutting edge 4| toact in cooperation with one edge of the slot IS in the twisting gear I!to sever the double-stranded twist intermediate the second and thirdbends, after which the kin-king members continue tomove angularly, asindicated in Figure 5, until each slot 35 is turned through an angle of180 degrees, thereby wrapping the wires 63, around the kinking membersto form the inner bend 8| of substantially 90 degrees. The kinkingmembers are then moved angularly back to their original positions,during which movement the beveled portions 56, 51 engage the twistedportions and force them out of the slots 35.

It will now be observed that two knots. or

twisted portions 80 have been tied and cut apart. One-knot joins the twoends 60, 10' of the wire strand which encircles the bale, leaving theupper and lower strands 60, F0 from the wire coils tied together by theother knot, and each of the knots has been bent or kinked at two spacedpoints 8|, 82. When the needle H is retracted downwardly out of the balecase, the bale encircling strands 60', 10' slip ofi the end of theneedle, and the two strands of wire 69, 10 from th wire coils extendvertically through the bale case, ready to receive the new charge ofcrop material to form a new bale. The wire strand (0 is retained inengagement with the sheave 73 by means of a retaining loop in the end ofthe finger ll of the needle I I.

What is claimed is:

1. In wire-tying mechanism, the combination of a rotatable twistingmember for receiving a.

plurality of strands of wire or the like and twisting them together, arotatable kinking member disposed adjacent said twisting member andhaving means providing thereon a portion transverse to its axis ofrotation for receiving said strands and rotatable after the latter havebeen twisted to bend the twisted portion at two spaced points, and acutting element mounted on said kinking member and rotatable therewithinto cooperative cutting relation with a portion of said twisting memberfor severing the twisted portion therebetween, and means for effectingrotation of the kinking member, said cutting element being so positionedperipherally on said kinking member that the latter must rotate througha portion of a revolution before said cutting element and said twistingmember are brought into severing relation, to thereby delay the severingof said strands until the latter are at least partially bent.

2. In wire-tying mechanism, the combination of a rotatable twistingmember having a radially extending slot therein for receiving aplurality of strands of wire or the like and twisting them together byrotation of said member, a kinking member disposed adjacent saidtwisting, member and rotatable about an axis generally perpendicular tothe axis of rotation of said twisting member, said kinking member havinga recess normally disposed in alignment with said slot and adapted toreceive said strands loosely, permitting the latter to be twistedtherein, means for eifecting rotation of said kinking member to bend orkink the twisted portion of said strands, and a cutting element mountedon said kinking member and having an edge cooperable with anedge of saidslot in said twisting member to sever said strands, said cutting edgebeing spaced peripherally on said kinking member from said receivingrecess to delay the severing of said strands until the twisted portionhas been bent.

3. In wire-tying mechanism, the combination of a rotatable twistingmember having a radially extending slot therein for receiving aplurality of strands of wire or the like and twisting them together byrotation of said member, a kinking member disposed adjacent saidtwisting member and rotatable about an axis generally perpendicular tothe axis of rotation of said twisting member, said kinking member havinga slot in one end thereof normally disposed in alignment with said slotin said twisting member and adapted to receive said strands loosely,permitting the latter to be twisted therein, means for effectingrotation of said kinking member to bend or the twisted portion of saidstrands at each end of said slot therein, said kinking member beingspaced from said twisting member to provide a short length of saidtwisted strands therebetween, and a cutting element mounted on saidkinking member and projecting radially beyond the end of said slottherein to a cutting edge cooper-able with an edge of said slot in saidtwisting member to sever said strands, said cutting edge on said kinkingmember being spaced peripherally on the latter from said slot therein todelay the severing of said strands until the member has been rotatedthrough a sufficient angle to bend the twisted portion.

4. In wire-tying mechanism, the combination of a rotatable twistingmember having a radially extending slot therein for receiving aplurality of strands of wire or the like and twisting them together byrotation of said member, a pair of kinking members disposed on laterallyopposite sides of said twisting member, respectively, and rotatableabout axes generally perpendicular to the axis of rotation of saidtwisting member, said kinking members each having a slot in one endthereof normally disposed in alignment with said slot in said twistingmember and adapted to receive said strands loosely, permitting thelatter to be twisted therein, means for eiiecting rotation of saidkinking members to bend or kink the twisted portions of said strands onboth sides of said twisting member, each of said portions being thusbent at both ends of the slot in the respective kinking members, and acutting element mounted on one of said kinking members and having acutting edge cooperable with an edge of said slot in said twistingmember to sever said strands between the twisted portions, said cuttingedge on said kinking member being spaced peripherally on the latter fromsaid slot therein to delay the severing of said strands until saidkinking members have been rotated through a sufircient angle to bend thetwisted portions.

'5. In wire-tying mechanism, the combination of a rotatable twistingmember in the form of a gear having a slot therein extending to thecenter thereof for receiving a plurality of strands of wire or the likeand twisting them together by rotation of said gear, a pair of kinkingmembers disposed on laterally opposite sides of said twisting gear,respectively, each of said kinking members comprising a generallycylindrical stub shaft rotatably disposed on an axis substantiallyperpendicular to the axis of rotation of said twisting gear and having aslot in one end thereof normally aligned with the inner end of said gearslot for receiving said strands and enlarged to permit the latter to betwisted therein, means for effecting rotation of the kinking members tobend or kink the twisted portions of said strands on both sides of saidtwisting gear, each of said portions being thus bent at both ends of theslot in the respective kinking member, said kinking members being spacedfrom the sides of said twisting gear to permit said strands to bendaround said stub shafts between the latter and said slot in the gear,and an axially extending cutting element mounted on one of said stubshafts and projecting radially outwardly therefrom to provide a cuttingedge cooperable with one edge of said slot in said twisting gear tosever said strands therebetween, said cutting edge on said kinkingmember being spaced peripherally on the latter from said slot therein todelay the severing of said strands until said kinking members have beenrotated through a sufrlcient angle to bend the twisted portions.

6. In wire-tying mechanism, the combination of twisting means forreceiving a plurality of strands of wire or the like and twisting themto gether to form an elongated double-stranded twist, a pair of kinkingmembers disposed on laterally opposite sides of said twisting member,respectively, and rotatable about generally parallel axes substantiallynormal to the length of the double-stranded twist, said kinking memberseach having a slot in one end thereof to receive said twist, means foreffecting rotation of said kinking members to bend or kink the twist onboth sides of said twisting member, each of said portions being thusbent at both ends of the slot in the respective kinking member, and acutting element mounted on one of said kinking members and having acutting edge cooperable with an edge of said slot in said twistingmember to sever said strands between the twisted portions, said cuttingedge on said kinking member being spaced peripherally on the latter fromsaid slot therein to delay the severing of said strands until saidkinking members have been rotated through a sufiicient angle to bend thetwisted portions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 661,015 Kennedy Oct. 30, 1900 994,661 Schubert June 6, 19111,990,526 Claar Feb. 12, 1935 2,512,754 Tuft June 27, 1950 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 458,687 Belgium June, 1945 595,649 GreatBritain Dec. 11, 1947

